Ministry by G. A. Rainbow
– Part Two

This passage – which primarily deals with what is sacrificed to idols – is of particular interest because of

• the way in which the truth as to what God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are towards the assembly is brought out.

It is imperative that we have teaching and edification in our gatherings.

• We all have a certain amount of general knowledge of Scripture which may puff us up, but love edifies and the knowledge of God edifies.

Earlier in the epistle Paul had to deal with divisiveness, par-tisanship and corruption, but here he brings out what God is.

• This links with what we had before us on the Lord Day in John 17: "one, as We are one".

In this scripture the bearing of divine oneness is on the local assembly.

• We should be alongside Paul in saying, "To us …"

• Many professing Christians recite the creed, "I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth …"

• This scripture and others expose the error of the creed.

• Whenever creation is ascribed to One of the Divine Persons in Scripture, it is always ascribed to the One we know as our Lord Jesus.

• We do not recite creeds! But we can and should say, "To us there is one God, the Father … and one Lord, Jesus Christ". We are committed to that.

The enemy constantly seeks to divide and to bring differences by any means.

• But we say, "To us there is one God … and one Lord". Let us hold to that. "God is one, and the mediator of God and men one, the man Christ Jesus", 1 Timothy 2: 5.

• Unity and oneness both flow from the way God has come out in the mediatorial economy.

I would not set aside separation from evil as God's principle of unity in the public ruin of the assembly; I would not set it aside, and I could not set it aside.

• That principle abides as a firm rock, a firm foundation.

• But we are professedly gathered as recognizing that great principle. Is it possible for us then to be divided?

• It is indeed. I have my thoughts and you have your thoughts.

• How easily the enemy can get in to divide and to break down brotherly confidence and relationships,
  • even where the principle of separation is outwardly maintained!

What is the remedy? It is to hold to the divine side of our relationship with the saints.

• "To us …" is a collective expression; we are holding these great and holy matters together. It is not merely 'to me' or 'to you''; it is "to us".

• It is the collective recognition of the place of the one God, the Father, as supreme in the economy,
  • and the place of the one Lord, Jesus Christ, as the great Operator.

These great truths bear on the local assembly and are the basis of oneness among the saints.

• "There is one body and one Spirit … one hope … one Lord, one faith, one baptism … one God and Father of all …", Ephesians 4: 4-6.

• What room then can there be in the assembly for petty, trivial, natural differences? None! None at all! May the Lord draw us all into this blessed oneness!

There has been time enough for just going to meetings.

• If that is all there is to our gatherings, it is nothing.

• There is more than that to be experienced, and the saints need and want more than that.

We need and want Christ. Judah said, "She is more righteous than I". The Lord could say of Himself that "more than Solomon is here", Matthew 12: 2.

• How true! Is He more to you than anyone or anything else?

These are not the generations of Judah. He is passed by, in this respect, no doubt because of his history.

• Pherez is distinguished, as Noah and others are, in having generations named after him.

What does it mean? These few verses, this short list of names, is the key to the meaning of Pherez.

• How quickly they reach down until they come to and stop at David, the man of God's pleasure who would do all His will. Acts 13: 22.

• Pherez would get you to Christ quickly and directly – with no detours.

• That seems to be his only objective, to reach on to Christ as seen in David, and to reach Him quickly.

Pherez himself arrived on the scene quickly and suddenly.

• His brother stretched out his hand. Why was it not his head or his feet? It was the hand grasping for a place for himself.

• You might say, 'Wait in line Pherez; your brother was first!' But that won't do. Christ must have "the first place in all things", Colossians 1: 19.

• Zerah "drew back his hand". The word is, "if he draw back, My soul does not take pleasure in him", Hebrews 10: 38.

• There he was, pushing forward and then drawing back. That is the first man, "double-minded … unstable in all his ways", James 1: 8.

• Let us judge and forsake that line of things, and make way for Christ.

Bunyan has a character in Pilgrim's Progress called "Mr. Self-Will".

• We all have some of that in us and it is always against Christ against the One who delights to do the will of God.

• There is no room for grasping self-willed place-seeking in the assembly. Christ and Christ alone is to have the first place among us.

• We have had to do with other things, and with other men seeking the first place for themselves;
  • but now, let us be like Pherez and break forth, get quickly to Christ!

What we need to face is that we "have not yet resisted unto blood". That is the ultimate test.

• We have resisted, we have wrestled against sin. We do it; we must do it every day. Those who are older have done it for a longer time.

• It continues for "there is no discharge in that war", Ecclesiastes 8: 8.

• But let us face it: Young men, you "have not yet resisted unto blood", nor have I, nor have our older brethren – "not yet".

• But the time may come. Let us prepare ourselves.

For the most part, we live in pleasant, congenial, materialistic circumstances without many troubles; although there are some among us who suffer.

• And there are many who have suffered, and there are many saints who are presently suffering for Christ throughout the world.

• That we do not know them means nothing; they are there, and the Lord knows them.

Jesus was the great Sufferer. He was betrayed, mocked, scourged, crucified.

• We are apt to read these words as if they were a mere story, but what He went through was real, and intense.

• The suffering of Stephen and of James, of Paul and Silas, and of the myriads of the holy martyrs was real.

• The sufferings of our brethren in the present day, whoever they be and wherever they are, is real too.

But we "have not yet resisted unto blood, wrestling against sin". We have not done it – "not yet".

• Perhaps our time of suffering will come as the Lord's return draws near.

So "consider well Him". Consider Christ well. He is our source of comfort and strength in any suffering here.

• Keep your eye on Christ, our great Model.

And remember, "God conducts Himself towards you as towards sons".

• The chastening is proof that we are not illegitimate. We belong to the Father; we are His sons.

• Do you question His conduct? Does He not know what is best for us?

• What do these paltry problems about who gets control of meeting rooms matter anyway?

• God is conducting Himself towards us as towards sons. His love is behind and in every thing.

In some countries there are Christians who do not have any meeting rooms; some do not even have Bibles;

• they must meet secretly at night in small companies because of the oppression of the authorities.

• They are suffering for Christ; they belong to Him. They are of the assembly; they are represented in the loaf. Some of them have resisted unto blood.

• "Be vigilant, watch. Your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walks about seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist, stedfast in faith, knowing that the selfsame sufferings are accomplished in your brotherhood which is in the world", 1 Peter 5: 8-9.

What have we suffered? Most of us have not suffered much.

• Having no meeting room and having to meet in the comfortable homes of the saints can hardly be called suffering!

Let us then not be downcast nor discouraged. Let us keep our eyes on Christ. Keep looking up.

• Don't forget that we are sons, and that God is for us in anything we may have to face in the way of suffering.

The Jewish element is by nature opposed to Christ, just as Saul had persecuted the assembly earlier. This element is in everyone of us.

• We have seen it in operation, the judaizing legal line which incessantly harassed and persecuted the saints.

• "The assembly of Thessalonians" – in a city marked by such bitter opposition – flourished.

• The assembly prospered despite the bitter opposition and the erroneous teaching by which Satan sought to overthrow it.

Paul draws attention to their privileged place "in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ".

• What a position! They were held in the affections of the Father and the Son.

• The knowledge of the divine affections would sustain them despite the difficult conditions.

Do we understand that we, not only individually but collectively too, also have this blessed place in the Father's affections?

• "In God the Father" cannot be explained in human terms. How wonderful it is!

• It is from that position of affection that we, as they, are to move out in our activities and testimony towards men.

• What energy is seen in their "work of faith, and labour of love, and enduring constancy of hope"!

• "Hope" comes last here, rather than "love" as in 1 Corinthians 13: 13, in view of their expectancy of the Lord's imminent return.

The Thessalonians were to know their election, and so are we, as chosen in Christ before the world's foundation.

• What peace and stability this knowledge imparts! What an incentive to be for God here! What a strong position to move out from!

• We would not shut any out of this but, "brethren beloved by God", we are to know our election as taken into favour in the Beloved.

"I am black but comely" reminds us of Moses having "taken a Cushite as wife", Numbers 12: 1.

• We may not be attractive to others, but what really matters is whether Christ finds us attractive. If we are "comely" in His eyes, that is sufficient.

There have been many things said against us but that is of no consequence if we have the sense of the Lord's personal approval.

• "My mother's children were angry with me". Has it not been so?

• Those whom we love as our brethren have been very angry with us; but Christ is not angry with us; He shows His approval of any affection for Himself.

• How He appreciates assembly affection and faithfulness! So our way is not shut up.

• If we are thinking of the flock of Christ, the divine thought in remnant times, the Lord will make our way clear.

We have suffered a little perhaps, but not too much.

• Some time ago, when I was preaching on a downtown street corner in Toronto, an old man stopped to listen. I spoke with him and learned that he was on a visit to relatives.

• He was from an eastern European country but would not name it for fear of persecution. He would not even tell me his name.

• He had seen his parents' little plot of ground con-fiscated, and monks and nuns taken away to prison.

• He told me that he and others – as "Christians" – had to go "underground".

• That man appreciated hearing the Name of Christ and the glad tidings being freely announced publicly but said with sadness, "You could not do that in my country".

• What then have we suffered? Let us "remember prisoners, as bound with them", Hebrews 13: 3.

Have you found Christ? Here it is not Him finding you; but you find Him, the One whom your soul loves.

• You hold on to Him and you will not let Him go. Is that the way it is with you? Is He everything, and more than everything, to you?

• Never fear, He will hold on to you: "underneath are the eternal arms", Deut. 33: 27. He will never fail us!

• But this is leading on to "union"; it is not union itself but it is getting close.

• You have found Christ; you love Him; you are holding on and will not let Him go. May this be true of us all!

But now, as then, there are some who stay in the camp and yet prophesy.

• All the gifts are not among us! Do not think that even for a moment; do not forget divine sovereignty!

• The Lord has given the gifts and they are individually and directly responsible to Him.

• Let us avoid sectarian thoughts and be thankful for everyone that the Lord has given and for all those who, perhaps with less light, are serving Him and His own in situations which, as subject to the Lord, we would not be free to be in.

My burden, however, is to apply these scriptures to ourselves.

• Brethren, there is not enough variety in service in these meetings.

• It is a fact that, in large measure, a few carry the whole matter of prophetic ministry week after week.

Paul exhorts: "But earnestly desire the greater gifts … but rather that ye may prophesy", 1 Corinthians 12: 31; 14: 2.

• That was his desire for the saints at Corinth, and I have no doubt that it is the Lord's desire for us here in Toronto.

Moses exhibits the spirit of Christ in his reply to Joshua, and I am sure that those who seek to serve the saints in this city would echo his words:

• "Would that all Jehovah's people were prophets, and that Jehovah would put His Spirit upon them!"

• How unjealous Moses was, and how unjealous in this matter is our blessed Lord Jesus!

The prosperity of any local assembly is directly related to spiritual ministry.

• Such ministry is the faithful provision of Christ as our Head, and He will ensure that it is provided; He has never failed us.

• But who is ready to be serviceable, to lay themselves out to have the mind of God?

• Surely participation in this service can and will be extended. Be ready young men, as was Isaiah.
  • "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? And I said, here am I; send me", Isaiah 6: 8.

• Why should you not prophesy? Would that you all prophesied!

The Spirit is available. He is here to glorify Christ and to serve the assembly; He is waiting to be called upon. It is up to you to seek His help.

• There is to be no jealousy. Go ahead, ask Him; He will help you, the saints will rejoice and heaven will too.

We should seek divine counsel in every matter, as it says,

• "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way in which thou shalt go; for I will counsel thee with Mine eye upon thee", Psalm 32: 8.

• Consider the Lord Jesus; how did He get His counsel? Was it not from His constant communion with His Father?

• "He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth Mine ear to hear as the instructed", Isaiah 50: 4.

It is clear that our counsel is to proceed from God, unlike the spurious counsel of Ahithophel

• which was only "as if a man had inquired of the word of God", 2 Samuel 16: 23.

The meeting for the care of the Lord's interests is before us. Right counsel is essential to care properly for His matters.

• Remember: "Where no advice is, the people fail; but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety", Proverbs 11: 14.

• Counsel is not the thoughts of one, or two or three, dominating but involves all who in any sense can be called counsellors. Only One is the "Counsellor".

Rehoboam counselled with the old men; that would be normal and right.

• Old men, of course, are not always right in their counsel. The "old prophet" in the next chapter – 1 Kings 13 – gave bad counsel and the man of God lost his life by harkening to it.

• Normally, however, we would expect that the counsel of older brothers, and older sisters too, would be right.

• "Old" should be understood to mean old in experience with God; not mere age in itself but
  • years spent with God, resulting in spiritual maturity, sobriety, stability and evenness.

• We need the counsel of such at this critical time.

But Rehoboam rejected the good counsel of the old men and turned to the young men.

• The Lord surrounded Himself with young men, the twelve, but He did not obtain His counsel from them; they obtained their counsel from Him.

• In fact, He had to rebuke them at times for their lack of understanding.

• O what counsel He can give, He "who has been made to us wisdom from God", 1 Corinthians 1: 30.

The young men were harsh and legal as young men are apt to be:

• 'Show them who is boss; assert yourself; put them in their place; don't be soft, make it tougher for them'.

• We have seen this reckless attitude often in recent years; we don't want to see it or allow it again. There has been enough oppression; no more!

What we need now is good counsel, good words.

• There are many burdens on the saints. There is no wisdom in increasing the burdens.

• Make it easier; not easier to do our own wills, not that.

• But make it easier for the brethren to grow, to feed on Christ, to have time for prayer and meditation. Time is sorely needed in our households.

The counsel of the old men was good; do not disregard it for it will lead to Christ.

• "If this day thou wilt be a servant to this people, and wilt serve them …" That is a very fine statement.

• How like Christ, "not lording it over your possessions" – 1 Peter 3: 5 – but serving them,

• as our Lord said: "I am in the midst of you as the one that serves", Luke 22: 27.

Let us serve the saints; let us serve one another and make it easier for one another by easing the burdens.

• I do not mean to encourage looseness or worldliness. Certainly not!

• But there are many ways in which the arduousness can be eased and the burdens lightened.

• "For ye have been called to liberty, brethren; only do not turn liberty into an opportunity to the flesh, but by love serve one another", Galatians 5: 13.

"Christ has set us free in freedom; stand fast therefore, and be not held again in a yoke of bondage", Galatians 5: 1.

• "They will be thy servants for ever". That is not bondage; it is the result of hearts won for Christ through the display of His grace. Wonderful!

• Let us have our part in this wonderful service of securing the hearts of the saints for Christ, not by harshness and rigour but by service and "good words".

You may say that Jonathan failed; so he did, and so have we, but that is not the issue at the moment.

• Just as David did, so the Lord Jesus appreciates affection for Himself.

The incident we have read took place near the beginning of Jonathan's history, and it shows that he was a man of faith who could act for God.

• There may be many things, both in yourself as well as in others, that might hinder you acting for God.

• That was the line that Saul was on, through preoccupation with himself and with his enemies.

In his obsession with his enemies Saul, in his ignorance and misguided zeal, put the people in bondage; let us not do that to our brethren.

• Saul prohibited them from eating when they were weary and needed strengthening.

• There was honey on the ground – a divine provision in the land that flowed with milk and honey –
  • but the people were afraid to eat it because of Saul's foolish curse.

• Jonathan had not heard the curse; sometimes it is better not to hear certain things!

To be in liberty is the great need of the moment.

• Liberty is promoted by good family feelings; but the family spirit was not working from Saul to Jonathan.

• Let us see that the family spirit is working among us.

• The evidence of it will be seen in the presence of what answers to the honey, the product of those busy little creatures who know how to work together without getting in each other's way.

Jonathan was free to eat the honey, and so should we be. How it would brighten our gatherings!

• Let us be with the Lord in what He is doing, setting the brethren free.

• Remember how the disciples ate of the grain as they walked through the fields on the sabbath, and how the Lord defended them against the legalists.

Saul was not right to pronounce such a curse. He was acting like those who "desire to have a fair appearance in the flesh", Galatians 6: 12.

• That was all it was, legality!

• It was said here last week, by a respected brother from the north of Scotland, that making eating a test of fellowship is legality; and so it is.

• That is just what Saul was doing, forbidding eating.

• The honey, the sweetness of mutual relationships among the brethren, is there to be eaten.

• Take it and eat some and your eyes, your whole outlook, will be brightened.

• Let us not forget the honey; it is produced in peaceful conditions but it is necessary to sustain us in times of conflict.

Remember the prophetic word as to Christ: "Butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the evil, and to choose the good", Isaiah 7: 15.

Our beloved brother carried the exercises of the testimony in this locality for many years but, for him, they are now over.

• They are not completed, for there are still sorrows in the testimony in this place, but they are over for our brother.

• The Lord will see that the exercises are carried forward, and we are to be with Him in whatever He may do.

"Thy dead shall live". God acknowledges our claim on our brother, as Abraham said, "that I may bury my dead from before me", Genesis 23: 4.

• O what comfort in the divine assurance: "Thy dead shall live". We can count on that commitment; our brother shall live!

"My dead bodies shall arise". Not only is our claim recognized, but God asserts His own claim: "My dead".

• How comforting to be assured of God's personal interest at such a time as this. Resurrection is sure; God will bring it about for Himself.

Everything is certain as to our brother and as to the myriads who have died in faith.

• But God would comfort us, "the living, who remain to the coming of the Lord", 1 Thessalonians 4: 15.

• How tenderly He does it: "Come" – the characteristic gospel word – "My people".

• He not only claims the dead, but claims us, the living, as His own too.

• "Enter into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee". The Lord will comfort us in the privacy and security of our own relations with Himself.

"Just for a little moment until the indignation be past".

• Not a long time, just "a little while", John 16: 17.

• It was never intended that the hope of His coming should be thought of as in the far distant future; it is always presented as an imminent hope.

• It will not be long: "Just for a little moment". How encouraging!

We well can wait in patience, for "Jehovah cometh out of His place".

• In Isaiah it is not the rapture, of course; it is the appearing, the time of Christ's glory, when He shall come with His saints.

• They will all come with Him, raised and glorified; and we shall be there with Him too.

• What cause for comfort in our present sorrow. May we all experience the Lord's comfort in this "little moment".

The purpose of God and the end of all His ways is to have a suitable dwelling place in the affections of men.

• He has accomplished His purpose in and through that Blessed Man, our Lord Jesus, who Himself was and is so delightful to God, and to us.